Category Archives: Carbs

Post navigation

Carbs are a poor choice as a pre-bed meal. Complex carbohydrates that is.

The reason: Consuming carbohydrates will result in a significant insulin release. This will put the breaks on fat-burning. If that is your goal. Carbs are also much more easily stored as fat in the evening hours when metabolism is naturally slowing in preparation for sleep. You have very little opportunity to burn off that energy when consuming carbs at night – unless you have some nighttime activity or running a marathon the day after.

Also, remember insulin production is partly influenced by your previous meal. The more carbohydrates consumed the more insulin produced.

Otherwise, stick to protein, veggies and healthy fats for your last meal…

As previously discussed in last weeks blog,
Insulin is a hormone, made by the pancreas, that controls the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood and allows the cells to use the glucose for energy or storage as body fat for later use

Symptoms to look for after eating carbs:

•Intestinal bloating or gas

•Poor concentration or sleepiness

•Feelings of depression

•Frequently hungry

•Frequently fatigued or low energy

•Insomnia or sleep apnea

•Frequent craving for sweets or caffeine

•Polycystic ovary for women

Do not add carbohydrates in back-back meals or snacks because insulin production is partly influenced by your previous meal. The more carbohydrates consumed the more insulin produced.

Just the mere taste of sugar on the tongue stimulates the release of insulin.

About 40% or more of the carbs you eat is converted to fat and stored as body fat.. any wonder you have an excess amount?

Finding your level of tolerance is what’s most important and then eat only whole food sources of carbohydrates, nothing processed or refined. Once you find this you yourself can find the balance in your diet…Who knows maybe in your life too : )

Insulin resistance or carbohydrate intolerance may be a precursor to Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

I too am insulin resistant and this has been a constant struggle for me in managing my weight. How I manage it is by keeping my complex carbs in small amounts. For instance I take one baked sweet potato and cut into quarters and only eat that quarter at that serving, in combination with protein so that it slows down the insulin rush. Adding a small amount of olive oil to them will also slow down that rush.

As my complex carbohydrate sources, I stick mostly with sweet potatoes, and some white, yucca and butternut squash. Generally, I don’t eat grains or legumes. When I start to get a reaction I pull them out completely for a few days until my system is balanced. Your energy levels, sleep patterns, and hunger pangs will tell you when to put them back in, it’s a cycling effect.

Insulin is a natural hormone made by the pancreas that controls the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood and allows the cells to use the glucose for energy. When glucose floods the bloodstream the pancreas has to pump out enough insulin to drive that glucose into cells. The more glucose, the more resistant your tissues eventually become to the effects of insulin so the pancreas has to secrete even more and work overtime.

Resistance training- is one of the best ways to improve insulin resistance and glucose control. Creating more muscle tissue creates more insulin receptors, improving the absorption of glucose into muscles so that it’s not floating in your blood or being converted into fat for lack of storage space. As the muscle absorbs the glucose, the pancreas can now relax.

Interval training- which alternates a relaxed pace with bursts of high-intensity movement – like HIIT Training, generates better glucose control than steady-state cardio. The intense contractions that fatigue muscles also break down carbohydrate stores in muscle. The muscles then become much more responsive to insulin as they attempt to replenish these stores.

As discussed in previous blogs another reason to get a heart rate monitor. This will help heal yourself while you’re getting in shape and losing weight.

Insulin resistance, is a major risk factor for the development of Type II diabetes.

A friend once asked me why I choose sweet over white potatoes if sweet potatoes have more sugar?

Despite their name, they don’t!

On the glycemic index compare 45 to 75-100 on the white potato.

Sweet Potatoes are also richer in anti-oxidants. The deeper the color of flesh, the greater the antioxidant content. If you can’t see the flesh buy the variety with the darkest skin.

A note on cooking these sweets…Steaming, roasting or baking them can double their anti-oxidant value while boiling reduces it.

One sweet potato delivers 438 percent of your daily value of Vitamin A, eye health, while a single spud serves up none. They also provide a third more vitamin C, has more fiber and has fewer calories and carbs.

We consume eighteen million pounds of potato chips on Super Bowl Sunday alone! We eat 7.5 billion pounds of French fries a year!

It’s no wonder POTATOES have gotten a bad rap for being a high-glycemic food.

This means that we digest sugars so rapidly that they give us a sharp rise in blood glucose. We are not designed to handle this sugar rush so we end up overweight, pre-diabetic, which can lead to Type 2 diabetes and that leads to a multitude of other diseases.

Our bodies function best when you eat low-glycemic foods that release their sugar over a short span of a few hours rather than in a short burst.

Potatoes are not necessarily bad for you. They are unprocessed, whole foods and can become a nutritious part of your diet as a great source of potassium, vitamin C and high in B2, B3 and folic acid.

Here are some tricks to tame the sugar rush of high glycemic potatoes:

•If you cook potatoes and then chill them for about 24-hours before you eat them, they are magically transformed into a low- or moderate-glycemic vegetable.

The cool temperature converts the potatoes’ rapidly digested starch into a more “resistant “starch that is broken down more slowly. This can reduce your blood sugar response by as much as 25 percent.

•Adding fat to potatoes or cooking them in fat also slows down the digestive process.

French fries produce a smaller increase in blood sugar than baked or steamed potatoes.

Tim asks “In what way do carbs “hold you until the next meal? Carbs provide an insulin response, which is quick, and wear off quick. This results in your energy going up, then back down quickly, resulting in a feeling of needing more energy sooner, compared to a low carb meal. Protein creates a hormone response that signals a felling of satiety to you brain (feeling of fullness). Mixing some protein with carbs will probably slow this effect somewhat, but it won’t stop the insulin release, and creation of body fat if the energy is not used immediately.”

Yes, indeed they do provide an insulin response, that is exactly why your timing is crucial and the kind of carbs you eat even more so.

Always think whole and unprocessed.

Lower glycemic index carbohydrates tend to enter the bloodstream slowly, they are therefore able to maintain a steady release of insulin that activates the enzyme glycogen synthetase, which is essential for glycogen storage. This is what gives you long lasting energy.

Not to mention,
for appearance sakes makes your muscles look fuller and you look leaner !

We live in a multicultural society, and we are eating food from different cultures and countries. We also want to try the new gourmet restaurant or the new diet. Some people want to go vegetarian, but they get tired in the process…

HOW DO WE EAT HEALTHY with all this influence around us?

What will be your best advice to our audience?

There are so many options today.. More than ever I Feel. There’ s Paleo, Vegan, Low Carb, Low Fat , High Protien, The Ducan Diet, just to name a few…

The best advice I can give is to find a nutrition plan that works for you. What might work for someone else may not be right for you. Think of it as a way of life, NOT a diet. It’s something you will have to live with day in and day out. It requires Discipline.

When I began strength training, my trainer taught me that if I was going to be training hard I had to eat to supplement my training. That is eating the right food at the right time so I could see the results of what I was training for. Working out alone just wasn’t going to cut it. Eating right had to be integrated in the plan. Soon it became a way of life and I improved with time as did my physique. I wanted to learn more so I went back to school and got certified.

Thank you Kiko Ricota & Mauricio Portillo for the opportunity to appear on your show, Penelope Sosa for making it easy & Valerie Girard for your beautiful make-up artistry. I feel blessed.

Artificial sweeteners are used in abundance in almost every “diet” drink, “lite” yogurts, puddings, and ice creams, most “low-carb” products, and almost all “reduced-sugar” products.

Yes, artificial sweeteners save you calories, but there’s growing evidence that they can increase your appetite for sweets and other carbohydrates causing you to eat more later. Therefore, you don’t really save any calories at all.

Some of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market today:

Splenda (sucralose)- Yellow

Aspartame-Blue

Saccharine- Pink

Also, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can stimulate high insulin levels in your body too, which again can promote fat storage.

So yes, these artificial sweeteners can make you FAT!!!!

Some natural sweetener options are honey, organic maple syrup & organic agave, but still these options are high in calories, carbohydrates and sugars.

Your alternative? STEVIA

I’ve yet to see any negative reports or health concerns regarding STEVIA and only positive potential health benefits.

The herb Stevia Rebauadiana, has been used for centuries by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay nutritionally and medicinally.

If you would like to be added to the weekly nutrition/fit tips mailing list pls submit your contact info on the contact page of this website….Thanks for reading and taking an interest in your good health!